India crash out of Women’s T20 World Cup despite Harmanpreet Kaur’s heroics

India shipwrecked in Women’s T20 World Cup Australia wrapped up India’s Women’s World T20 Cup with a convincing six-wicket win on Sunday, raising fresh questions over Harmanpreet Kaur’s future as India’s T20 captain. The six-time champions reached 171 to meet the target in 19 overs thanks to a 100-run partnership between Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner.India put Australia under pressure early in the chase and reduced them to 68/3 after dismissing Phoebe Litchfield, Georgia Voll and Beth Mooney cheaply. However, the experienced Perry (56 off 38 balls) and the hard-hitting Gardner (53 not out off 29 balls) turned the match around with a clinical display of batting.Relying on timing and placement, Perry hit eight boundaries during her innings while Gardner attacked the Indian spinners with powerful strokes. By the time Perry was dismissed, Australia were firmly in control, eventually securing a semi-final spot with a perfect Group 1 record.Earlier, India posted 170/4, a total that only looked competitive thanks to skipper Harmanpreet Kaur’s explosive knock of 56 off just 27 balls. Openers Smriti Mandhana (38) and Shafali Verma (34) gave India a steady start with a 66-run partnership, but the scoring rate fell short of expectations.Shafali was dismissed as he tried to accelerate while Mandhana was out after a mix-up with Jemimah Rodrigues. Jemimah scored 34 off 28 balls but struggled to maintain the pace and was eventually dismissed before the end of the final over.Harmanpreet turned the tide at the end of the innings when she smashed three consecutive sixes off Australian captain Sophie Molineux in the final over, helping India score 23 runs in the last six balls. However, the partnership of Perry and Gardner proved too strong as Australia sealed victory and were joined by South Africa in the semi-finals.